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No description available.

No description available.

Outfacing the Storm is a song cycle that tells the story of the spectacular failure-turned-triumph of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Expedition was an attempt to trek overland across the whole of the Antarctic continent. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, launched from England in August of 1914 with twenty-eight men. Within weeks of entering the polar latitudes, ice ensnared the ship. The Endurance remained stuck fast until the spring breakup crushed its hull, and it sank in November of 1915. The crew struck out for civilization, and, after six months and over one thousand miles of travel by foot, by ice-drift, and by lifeboat, they returned home alive. The Expedition’s safe return was heavily credited by its crew to Shackleton himself. A man of intense character, burning passion, and unfailing determination, Shackleton put the needs of his crew ahead of all else. His individual dedication to each member of the voyage was an inspiration to each. Ernest Shackleton, however, was a private man. He hid his own concerns from all except those closest to him. During the Expedition, he feared for the well-being of the crew. In the largest sense, he feared failure. Shackleton was only ever content while at sea. “Sometimes,” he wrote to his wife, “I think I am no good at anything but being away in the wilds… I grow restless and feel any part of youth is slipping away from me and that nothing matters… I feel I am no use to anyone unless I am outfacing the storm in wild lands.” This song cycle tells the tale of the Expedition through Shackleton’s eyes. The cycle is in eleven movements—nine recounting the story, plus a prologue and epilogue. All of the text is Shackleton’s own. The nine middle movements are taken from Shackleton’s memoir about the voyage, South. The prologue and epilogue are taken, respectively, from an interview and the above letter. / Music, Butler School of / text

In this study the author investigates his interpretive practice as a conductor, revealing how interpretive operations occur not as discrete and isolated activities, but rather an intertwined cyclic process. The study was based on an experiment of the author conducting five scores on two different occasions separated in time by between one day and several months. The study design included extensive content analysis of over 30 hours of video in which more than 12,000 codes were applied and collated. The study design also included traditional texted research, autoethnographic writing (a 25,000-word practice journal), semi-structured interviews, the use of Sonic Visualiser, and the documentation of a range of score study methods which the author describes as ‘listening in silence'. Although there are numerous studies that compare different performances of the same piece, and consider the extent to which differences are intentional and/or creative, none has been undertaken by a conductor in the role of artist-researcher. The study develops what the author calls the ‘ethos of multiple interpretability', suggesting that a conductor can be ‘animated by' the belief that there is no single correct way to perform a work specified by a score.

Greece experienced a musical revolution in the fifth century BC which modern scholars call the “New Music” movement. The movement was encouraged by Greek culture which embraced change and innovation. Under the “New Musicians,” those individuals involved in the movement, many traditional elements of music were changed or discarded. The most prominent place in which to understand the change in musical styles is the nomic and dithyrambic genres: both genres allowed musicians a great range in creativity to the extent that innovations in the nomoi made their way into the dithyramb. The change to traditional music was not always warmly accepted. Instead, while the demos enjoyed the new style of music the aristocracy derided its existence. The split between the demotic and aristocratic views of music may be seen especially in the attitude towards and purpose of the aulos and kithara in fifth-century Athens. Moreover, since the attitude of the aristocrats differed from that of the working-class musicians, we are able to see that the traditionally-minded aristocracy saw music as a gift from the gods while the working musicians saw the instruments and their musical sound as “tools.” The New Music movement was encouraged by Greek society which rewarded novelty and innovation. As Athens grew to become a cultural hot spot in the fifth century, more people saw the incentive to becoming professional musicians; original music would be rewarded either by fame and glory of the festivals or by financial remuneration. As a result, a primitive “entertainment industry” arose at Athens and propelled the new-style musicians to pursue their original compositions in their professional careers. The New Music movement also encouraged the study of music, particularly the study of musical ethics. In addition to having a status as a cultural hot spot, Athens also attracted numerous philosophers and other intellectuals. Those intellectuals contributed to the debate about the function and value of music. As the New Musicians’ popularity increased and the new style of music exerted an influence on the education system, emphasis was placed on the importance of the text and the development of the capacity to judge music. As a result, many philosophers and music theorists debated the moral aspect of music, now called the concept of musical ethos. The concept of musical ethos demonstrates that both philosophers and musicians studied music with a view to determining the most effective music for eliciting a response from the audience. Through a study of the ancient literature, most of which deals with music only incidentally, we will be able to understand how the New Music movement was encouraged by Greek culture, given an incentive by fifth-century society, and studied by some of the most brilliant philosophers and musicians Greek history has known. / February 2009

This portfolio of compositions is a logbook on how trans-disciplinary collaboration, gestural embodiment of sound and social context influenced my work as a composer between 2008 and 2013. In most pieces, community based environments with experts in fields other than music were crucial to explore new sound worlds and creative processes beyond my solely scope. While music composition is traditionally a lonely act, this collaborative approach allowed me to repeatedly answer two questions that fascinate me: How can other fields of knowledge inform music? And: How can music inform other fields of knowledge? In some cases, I even used the score to foster transdisciplinary collaboration, like in "Nadir" and "Bisbiglio Qualcosa en el mio Orecchio" where collaboration between musicians and non-musicians is necessary. / Music

The purpose of this dissertation is to discover if Arturo Fuentes’ Primer Interludio incorporates a number of stylistic features typical of guitar music written by Mexican contemporaries from 1988 to 2003. These features include the use of complex musical notation, highly disjunct melodic contour, extended techniques, innovative timbres, rhythmic complexity, rapidly changing dynamics, atonality, percussive effects and repetitive rhythmic and/or melodic cells. As a point of departure a list of guitar works by representative Mexican composers was compiled. From this list the following works were chosen since they exemplify the stylistic trends I wish to highlight: Tres Instantáneas (1988) by Manuel Enríquez, Sonata (1992) and Elegía 2 (2000) by Hebert Vázquez, Haikus (2000) by Ana Lara, Sydolira (2000) by Gabriela Ortíz, and Impello (2003) by Francisco Javier González Compeán. By comparative analysis, I have associated certain stylistic features between these contemporary Mexican composers. I have been able to get a glimpse of some of the underlying stylistic unities found in these guitar compositions that seem rather separate. There are a number of stylistic features common to all of the composers discussed herein as well as few characteristics where only some of them converge. However, this research shows that Arturo Fuentes’ Primer Interludio is representative of several stylistic features commonly found in guitar music written by contemporary Mexican composers. There is a vast variety of Mexican guitar works created in recent years that remain unknown to today’s classical music world, academic community and general public. Mexico possesses a large repertoire of guitar works, music for solo guitar and guitar with a wide array of ensemble combinations from duets to large ensembles and guitar concertos. Many of these works would undoubtedly challenge a performer of the highest caliber. One of the purposes of this project is to promote contemporary Mexican classical guitar music. I hope to awake interest in this contemporary music style and encourage other musicians to include Mexican works in their concert repertoire.

Greece experienced a musical revolution in the fifth century BC which modern scholars call the “New Music” movement. The movement was encouraged by Greek culture which embraced change and innovation. Under the “New Musicians,” those individuals involved in the movement, many traditional elements of music were changed or discarded. The most prominent place in which to understand the change in musical styles is the nomic and dithyrambic genres: both genres allowed musicians a great range in creativity to the extent that innovations in the nomoi made their way into the dithyramb. The change to traditional music was not always warmly accepted. Instead, while the demos enjoyed the new style of music the aristocracy derided its existence. The split between the demotic and aristocratic views of music may be seen especially in the attitude towards and purpose of the aulos and kithara in fifth-century Athens. Moreover, since the attitude of the aristocrats differed from that of the working-class musicians, we are able to see that the traditionally-minded aristocracy saw music as a gift from the gods while the working musicians saw the instruments and their musical sound as “tools.” The New Music movement was encouraged by Greek society which rewarded novelty and innovation. As Athens grew to become a cultural hot spot in the fifth century, more people saw the incentive to becoming professional musicians; original music would be rewarded either by fame and glory of the festivals or by financial remuneration. As a result, a primitive “entertainment industry” arose at Athens and propelled the new-style musicians to pursue their original compositions in their professional careers. The New Music movement also encouraged the study of music, particularly the study of musical ethics. In addition to having a status as a cultural hot spot, Athens also attracted numerous philosophers and other intellectuals. Those intellectuals contributed to the debate about the function and value of music. As the New Musicians’ popularity increased and the new style of music exerted an influence on the education system, emphasis was placed on the importance of the text and the development of the capacity to judge music. As a result, many philosophers and music theorists debated the moral aspect of music, now called the concept of musical ethos. The concept of musical ethos demonstrates that both philosophers and musicians studied music with a view to determining the most effective music for eliciting a response from the audience. Through a study of the ancient literature, most of which deals with music only incidentally, we will be able to understand how the New Music movement was encouraged by Greek culture, given an incentive by fifth-century society, and studied by some of the most brilliant philosophers and musicians Greek history has known.

Greece experienced a musical revolution in the fifth century BC which modern scholars call the “New Music” movement. The movement was encouraged by Greek culture which embraced change and innovation. Under the “New Musicians,” those individuals involved in the movement, many traditional elements of music were changed or discarded. The most prominent place in which to understand the change in musical styles is the nomic and dithyrambic genres: both genres allowed musicians a great range in creativity to the extent that innovations in the nomoi made their way into the dithyramb. The change to traditional music was not always warmly accepted. Instead, while the demos enjoyed the new style of music the aristocracy derided its existence. The split between the demotic and aristocratic views of music may be seen especially in the attitude towards and purpose of the aulos and kithara in fifth-century Athens. Moreover, since the attitude of the aristocrats differed from that of the working-class musicians, we are able to see that the traditionally-minded aristocracy saw music as a gift from the gods while the working musicians saw the instruments and their musical sound as “tools.” The New Music movement was encouraged by Greek society which rewarded novelty and innovation. As Athens grew to become a cultural hot spot in the fifth century, more people saw the incentive to becoming professional musicians; original music would be rewarded either by fame and glory of the festivals or by financial remuneration. As a result, a primitive “entertainment industry” arose at Athens and propelled the new-style musicians to pursue their original compositions in their professional careers. The New Music movement also encouraged the study of music, particularly the study of musical ethics. In addition to having a status as a cultural hot spot, Athens also attracted numerous philosophers and other intellectuals. Those intellectuals contributed to the debate about the function and value of music. As the New Musicians’ popularity increased and the new style of music exerted an influence on the education system, emphasis was placed on the importance of the text and the development of the capacity to judge music. As a result, many philosophers and music theorists debated the moral aspect of music, now called the concept of musical ethos. The concept of musical ethos demonstrates that both philosophers and musicians studied music with a view to determining the most effective music for eliciting a response from the audience. Through a study of the ancient literature, most of which deals with music only incidentally, we will be able to understand how the New Music movement was encouraged by Greek culture, given an incentive by fifth-century society, and studied by some of the most brilliant philosophers and musicians Greek history has known.